Yes it did! (Y) I'm finding myself getting a little impatient though waiting for the basketball program to really take off. Without the great year with Corey there hasn't been too much to get all that excited about.

Rachel Nagel hit a 10 footer at the buzzer to win it for the Aggies in a hard fought thriller. The Ags had had an 11 point lead with 2:34 to go in the 3rd but couldn't stop the Gaels dominance inside and on the boards. St. Mary's tied it up late in the 4th and the Ags got the ball back on a TO with 9.2 ticks left.

The Gaels had 3 fouls to give and, by the time they couldn't foul again, there were only 4 seconds left. After a timeout, the Ags inbounded the ball and Nagel managed to put up a shot just before the buzzer went off. The ball went through the hoop with 0:00 on the clock.

Great win for the Aggies against a very good team. The one big concern for Jen Gross is the inability of the her team to rebound the ball. It's almost uncanny how many times the Ags are around the basket but can't secure the ball. The Gaels out rebounded the Ags 44-27 and 19 of those were offensive rebounds. The Gaels also out scored the Aggies 48-28 in the paint. The Ags will have to figure out how to be more aggressive inside because their opponents are going to continue to pound the ball into the paint against them until they do a better job of defending in the paint and rebounding.

The Aggies have a tough stretch of 6 road games ahead with the first being a trip to Corvallis, Oregon, to play the 6-1 Beavers of Oregon State next Wednesday at a strange 11 am start time.

The Aggies take a 38-35 lead into the half in a very entertaining battle between two good basketball teams. The game has been fast-paced with a lot of well executed plays by both teams.

The Gaels have out rebounded the Ags by a 24-13 count and have 9 offensive boards and 22 points in the paint. We'll have to do a much better job rebounding and defending in the paint in the second half to get the W in this one.

Live video stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLt1BhfzgbsF0TtHkXT59A-XwZv9VfOG8E&v=o43FemvzfQs

Yes, the first half was a real stinker! I was very impressed with Cal's defense though. We weren't able to get many good looks in the first half even when we did have a possession with good ball movement. We just got more and more tentative as the half ticked on. I couldn't believe the number of soft passes that got stolen and how many times we would drive the ball into trouble and then turn it over with a travel or get it stolen. There's no way to sugar coat it; it was awful.

We need to get Garrison Goode back before league starts too. He doesn't score much but he defends and rebounds really well and that helps keep Chima and JT out of foul trouble.

Les sounded very disappointed in the post-game interview and I think the team probably feels the same way. They had a chance to show something on national tv and totally laid an egg in the first half. I'm sure he only basketball fans who continued to watch the second half were Cal fans and die hard Aggie faithful like me.

There were times in the second half where I was thinking, wow, this team has the ability to play at a high level, but they have been very inconsistent this year. I get the feeling that they really haven't gelled as a team yet and the best is yet to come from them.

Cal beat the Aggies 86-61for their 32nd win in 32 games between the two schools .

The first and second halves were like night and day for the Ags. The first half was a comedy of errors as the Ags had 16 TO's that led to 19 Cal points. Our defense played well but we were out of control on offense playing way to fast for our skill level, throwing half-hearted passes and driving the ball into trouble with no idea of what to do then. That led to a ton of TO's. It was just very sloppy. That said, Cal is a very good defensive team but, nevertheless, the Aggies did not play smart and played out of control on offense to make things worse.

In the second half we played much smarter, made crisp passes, knocked down some nice shots and played pretty well on both ends of the court. We essentially played Cal even in the second half. The hole we dug in the first half was too deep to get out of though.

Chima had another tremendous game with 24 points 10 boards and he was battling much bigger players inside. I know he wants to shoot better than 4-10 from the line though. Lamar and Henn also played pretty well. Brynton defends well and made some nice shots and Henn is a bruiser but pulled up and hit 3-3 from downtown. Henn is going to become a stellar player for us with an inside outside game. Siler Schneider always plays hard but he gets a bit out of control and drives the ball into trouble. He needs to play within his ability and cut down on his TO's.

After the game Coach Les said he was not pleased with the team's lack of aggressiveness in the first half and "soft passes" that led to TO's.

The Aggies travel to Fargo next Wednesday to take on the Bison of North Dakota State.

No doubt that Cal has much more talent but that was a very ugly half of basketball by the Aggies. The Ags turned the by over 16 times which led to 19 points by the Bears. That's got to be a record or nearly a record for TO's in a half by an Aggie team. Cal is a very good defensive team but the Ags are telegraphing passes and driving the ball into trouble and then turn it over.

Our defense is not bad but we really struggle to score even when we have open looks. Lamar and Moneke have 16 of our 18 points. We can't be competitive with defense alone.

He has offers from Portland State, Army and Southern Oregon also.

I thought that JT and Chima got tagged with a couple of very questionable fouls at Idaho. I just hate those fouls called on the defender when the defensive player is backing up as fast as he can and the offensive player initiates the contact by leaning in with his shoulder and bumps the defender and a block is called. It happens a lot and puts the defender at a distinct disadvantage. No one can back up fast enough when a player is driving the ball, leans in and initiates contact. Those ticky tack bumps should at least be a no call.

We'll need Chima and JT to stay out of early foul trouble since Garrison Goode will probably still be out. Having them sitting on the bench for most of the Idaho game really hurt us on both ends of the floor.

O'k, OldAggie..don't just leave us hanging in suspense..what car were you drooling over?

Nice find, PA. It's great that they have invested in updated Hickey Gym. I know that all the lines on the floor are for all the different sports that can use the gym but it sure looks confusing! :s

I like this hire because he has a history of success as a DC and a HC and Hawk obviously has a personal relationship and knowledge of his coaching ability from the past. Building a coaching staff that has good communication and chemistry and are on the same page with each other is just as important, if not more important, than pure knowledge of the X's and O's. Hawkins must believe that Coach Tucker possesses those qualities plus proven football coaching knowledge and experience.

We've all had the experience of working with people who possess great knowledge in their field but fail to work and communicate well with their fellow staff members. The ability to communicate and work well with others is a greater predictor of success than pure expertise and skill alone.

You can vote for Dani here:

http://herosports.com/news/d1-womens-basketball-hero-of-the-week-4-2016

She's currently 3rd out of 10 players but she's far behind the two leaders so go to the website and give her your votes!

The things that stood out to me in this article is that Blue says we are committed to paying our assistant coaches at the top of the Big Sky so that the assistants can afford to live in Davis, and that the salary pool for the assistants will be entirely donor funded.

What a difference bringing in Hawkins has made with the donors!

Rayas sounds like a baller that fits the Aggie profile:

"My collegiate goals is to get my major in medicine and hope to play in the NFL. I'm just a ball player I don't play for myself I play for the guy next to me. I'm a leader I'm the captain of the defense and bring my brothers up no matter if a touchdown a first down or a flag. We just have to move forward and stop them on the next play. I'm responsible I take time to get all my work done I don't complain about it I just do it. Never late to class or practice or film. I play until the whistle has blown no mercy on anyone because they are trying to get after it as well."

http://www.ncsasports.org/football-recruiting/california/lynwood/lynwood-high-school1/bryan-rayas

I say get rid of the Bossy Cow Cow. Put it in the archives. Do not ask the Aggie Pack to recite that embarrassing ditty anymore. If you have noticed, most of the students can barely bring themselves to recite it above a whisper after the announcer proclaims, "And now the Bossy Cow Cow!"

Sorry fans of Aggie lore...that thing is ridiculous in this day and age! This is a modern, world class university not a tiny rural college out in the middle of the sticks. :-d

I agree, 6th. I do not think we have improved that much if at all overall. I know that there are high expectations for Hawkins and the future of Aggie football and, I just hope that Blue holds the same high achievement expectations for Coach Les as well.

We need to see continual improvement and need to be competitive for Big West championships and post-season bids in basketball too. Football isn't the only program we should have high expectations for. If Les can't get it done, he should feel the heat also.

The Aggies shoot 23% for the game and lose 68-42. Defensively, the Ags played pretty well. It was on the offensive end that they struggled mightily as they missed lots of open looks and short-armed too many shots in the paint. The ball movement was pretty good but the Aggies often rushed their shots when they did get a good look.

I would like to see this team face more teams of the caliber of Stanford. They would learn a lot about how they must play aggressively from the start and keep it going throughout the game, and it would ultimately grow their confidence. This team has talent. They'll get better and grow with big challenges.

No sign of the Ags cold shooting heating up as they manage only 6 points in the 3rd quarter and Stanford leads 47-26 after 3.